Parkinson’s UK said the loss of a specialist speech and language therapist role went against “clear evidence”
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead.(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
National charity Parkinson’s UK has hit out at a North East hospital trust‘s decision not to continue funding a specialist speech and language therapist for Parkinson’s patients. The charity said that the Gateshead Health NHS Trust’s decision to cut the post at the end of a two-year pilot came “despite clear evidence”.
The position had been funded for two years by the charity – but at the conclusion of the pilot scheme, the hospital trust, which runs the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, has chosen not to fund it on a continuing basis. Trust bosses said that while they were grateful for the funding in the past, they were instead “using the valuable learning” to inform its wider service provision.
But Parkinson’s UK has set up a petition and urged the trust to fund the post. NHS campaigners have also complained at what they called was an “appalling” decision. The charity’s director of external relations Juliet Tizzard. said: “Parkinson’s UK has been campaigning since June 2025 against the Trust’s decision to remove the post despite clear evidence of improved patient outcomes and significant cost savings.”
She said that when the post was in place it had supported 374 people and saved the hospital trust thousands. She added: “When the specialist post was in place, it supported 374 people with Parkinson’s, cut urgent swallow assessment waits from 100 hours to just over 31 hours, helped patients go home from hospital more than three days earlier, and saved the Trust nearly £784,000. The impact of removing this post doesn’t only affect patients, but it also places even more strain on an already overstretched healthcare system.
“Despite months of asking for meetings and sharing evidence and warnings about the risks this decision has to patients, we aren’t being listened to. We’ve now launched a petition calling on the CEO to reverse the decision. Please, sign the petition on our website and share it with your friends, families and networks.”
In response, Dr Carmen Howey, group medical director at Gateshead Health NHS Trust said: “We know that for people living with Parkinson’s and their families, timely access to the right support makes a real difference. We are hugely grateful to Parkinson’s UK for the funding we received for a two-year pilot Speech and Language Therapy post ending in December 2025.
“When that funding came to an end we reviewed the learning from the pilot alongside our wider clinical priorities, with patient safety and clinical outcomes at the centre of our decision making.
“Instead of continuing the specific pilot role, we are using the valuable learning from this to shape how speech and language therapy is delivered in future. Our aim is to make sure that everyone who needs support from this team, including patients with Parkinson’s, can access care in a timely way based on clinical need.”
The decision has been greeted with dismay by campaigners from the Keep Our NHS Public group, who also criticised an earlier decision to shut an elderly persons’ ward at the hospital. John Whalley from the group said: “It is appalling that, shortly after the closure of Ward 23 at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, we see yet another example of a reduction in clinical services at Gateshead Health NHS Trust.
“Parkinson’s UK is a charity recognised nationally for its expertise and for this innovative collaboration with the NHS to have ceased is a huge loss to the residents of Gateshead. We hope that Gateshead Health NHS Trust will reconsider their decision.”
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